Sleep Alone
by DearieMay
Summary: 30 years after the Kaiju war, and the world is on the brink of chaos. Can bringing back the Jaeger Pilots bring stability back to humanity and bring them together once more? Chuck Hansen/OC Rated M for possible chapters in the future
1. Character Description

Sleep Alone

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_Takes place 30 years after the end of the Kaiju War (2050). _

Name: Autumn Michelle Larson

Age: 26

Hair: Chestnut Brown

Eyes: Dark Brown

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 115 lbs

Birthday: November 5th

Background: Autumn was born into a family of famous doctors. Born in London, England, her parents decided their skills and knowledge would be of more help aiding some of the more affected areas of the world still trying to rebuild after the end of the Kaiju war. When Autumn was five years old, her parents were sought out by Autumn's paternal grandfather, Benjamin Larson, to assist in a special government project. So much of the world's population had been lost during the seven-year-long rampage the Kaiju inflicted... But despite the loss of millions of lives, without a common enemy, the world was on the brink of an all-out war. World Leaders believed that they could ease their countrymen's minds and savagery by reminding them of why they were still breathing: the return of the Jaeger Pilots. Only three remained on the Earth - but was it possible to bring the fallen pilots back?


	2. Prelude

It was a bleak day, and the gray overcast only trapped the cold brought on my the rain. Autumn wrapped her scarf a little more tightly around her neck and buried her nose in the soft fabric, keeping her eyes to the sidewalk as she continued forward to her parent's office on base. They had relocated to the countryside when Autumn was five years old and had stayed ever since. It wasn't a bad place, Margate, but Autumn couldn't help but wonder what her life would have been like had she grown up in her birth city of London. Even though the world hadn't fully recovered from the damage dealt by the Kaiju over 30 years ago, from what Autumn had seen, London seemed to be getting close to it's glory back in 2013.

She let out a sigh. It was all wishful thinking, anyway. Just a cruel reminder that she was trapped by the ghost of the modern world's past. Even Margate had been a coastal urban city back in the day. Now what was it? A handful of ports and a few hundred dedicated residents - most of whom were born here, and whose parents and grandparents before them were also born. In all her years of living here, Autumn couldn't recall anyone other than her family actually moving _to_ Margate. But when she thought about it, she couldn't recall anyone moving from Margate, either.

When she reached the security check to the Jameson Military Base the guard on duty simply nodded Autumn in. She made this trip every day since her eighteenth birthday, when her parents decided it was time for her to begin shadowing them and learning the family trade as it were. A couple of decades ago, her mother told her, Autumn would have needed to attend college and medical school to even _think_ about practicing medicine. _But the times have changed, love_, her mother's voice resonated in her mind. _And people still need doctors to aid them. Your father and I can teach you better than any professor, anyway_.

A small smile brushed at Autumn's lips, thinking of her mother's confidence. Autumn's mother, Janelle, had definitely earned every narcissistic thought when it came to her medical capabilities, as had her father Benjamin Kenneth Larson II. Though these days, her father spent more time in the scientific medicine field than actually practicing as a doctor. When Autumn questioned it, her mother simply said that it had to do with the very important project they were working on. _Though even after all these years it doesn't seem like they've made any headway_, Autumn thought and she loosened her scarf, making her way to her parent's office.

The soldiers around Autumn paid her no mind. After all, she stood only 5'3" above the ground. The boots she wore helped her slightly, boosting her an extra three inches, but she was easily missed in a crowd. She untucked her long, chestnut brown ringlets of hair from her scarf and hung up her coat when she finally made it to the office. Her mother glanced up briefly before returning to her paperwork.

"You're tardy, Autumn," Janelle said quietly.

"Sorry, Mum," Autumn looked to the ground. "I had a difficult time getting out of bed... You know I'm not one for stormy days like this."

"No matter," Janelle replied, removing her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Why don't you go ahead and begin with organizing those charts I have over on the desk? While you're doing that I can check in on your father in Laboratory Four. He's been working since last night."

"Oh dear," Autumn exclaimed quietly. "Hasn't done that in a while, has he?"

Autumn's mother shook her head. She, too, looked as if she hadn't slept all night. Normally Autumn goes to sleep before her parents return home and wakes in the morning after they've left... She just naturally assumes that they come home. Whether or not they do is obviously a different story.

"_All medical personnel, please report to Laboratory Four immediately_," a flat, female voice announced throughout the building. "_All doctors are needed to report to Senior Medical Chief Larson_."

_Grandfather_, Autumn thought.

"Autumn, what do you think you're doing?" her mother asked as Autumn almost took a seat at her desk. "All medical personnel means you, too. We need to go now."

"Sorry," Autumn mumbled, following her mother out of the office and down the hall. Soldiers were clearing a path as they practically ran towards the laboratory. _Hopefully no one's been injured_, Autumn thought as reached the door to the lab.

She noticed a few other doctors and two of the scientists she's seen around the building, only ever meeting in brief passing. Janelle was pushing them towards the front of the small group of people, who were all crowding around the double doors to the testing room. None of them seemed able to move nor speak; as if they were in a state of shock. Janelle pushed through the double doors and into a dark room, illuminated by a light blue glow irradiating from the center of the room. Autumn could tell that her father and grandfather were standing there, surrounding a table. But she didn't know who the handful of other people were.

She locked eyes with the Asian woman standing next to a tall, blonde man and quickly turned her gaze to the floor. For some reason Autumn felt like she should have waited for her mother with the others in the main room. When Autumn looked up again, the Asian woman smiled and Autumn let out a small breath, tentatively following her mother to the group of people.

Everyone was muttering quietly amongst themselves, congratulations by tone of their voices, Autumn guessed. When she finally reached the table she knew why. She had seen his face many times - in pictures and old news coverage from the Kaiju war period. He looked the same as he had then. Short, light brown hair, pale skin. He didn't look a day over twenty-eight (twenty-nine, tops). But she knew this man's story...

How in the world was she looking at the sleeping face of Chuck Hansen?


	3. Chapter One

Naturally, word got out fast. It's not every day that a war hero comes back from the dead. Chuck had been back in the world of the living for about a month, and within that time Autumn had gone from medical student to Public Relations Rep. And she could honestly say that studying medicine was far more simple. She was constantly getting rushed to meetings with doctors and politicians, physical therapists and psychologists.

"Anytime you want to trade, dear," Janelle joked one afternoon over tea. "What I wouldn't give to be your age and stuck with a strapping young man like Mr. Hansen."

Autumn could only roll her eyes and keep her mouth shut. During the last few weeks Chuck has barely managed to tell her "good morning" let alone carry on a conversation longer than five minutes that wasn't about a fight. One would think that being aware of a second chance at life would change a person's dynamic and their way of thinking, but that didn't seem to occur to Chuck. But the passion to fight is what made him so dangerous to an enemy, and so successful.

A sigh escaped Autumn's lips as she laid down for bed, maneuvering into a position that she finally deemed comfortable. When she closed her eyes she could see Chuck laying still on the table surrounded by who she now knew were none other than Herc (Chuck's father), and Raleigh and Mako Becket. Had she known back then she would not have acted so casual around them. Of course she assumed they were her father's colleagues, more doctors and scientists. But not war heros.

She shifted in bed as she continued to replay that morning. Autumn couldn't help but wish she could go back in time and just wait in the other room with the other doctors. It was in that initial awakening that she became Chuck's official-yet-unofficial caretaker. Her mother thought it would be good practice for Autumn in the future when she had patients dealing with similar things that Chuck was: memory recovery, physical instability.

Despite advances in technology, this was still the first attempt at trying to bring a human back to life that had actually succeeded. The twist was something so natural and obvious that it was no wonder it had been overlooked in the past. Although Chuck may have the same physical appearance as he had three decades ago, he was "conceived" and born, and grew naturally over time.

The day he awoke was in fact his twenty-ninth birthday. And every day for the last twenty-nine years Herc came to visit with Autumn's father and grandfather to check in on Chuck. Using the same technology that created the Drift, Herc would enter a state of deep sleep and transfer his memories to Chuck's unconscious mind. Small intervals, at first, but soon Herc would transfer a day at a time's worth of memories. Day by day, Chuck became closer to the man he was at the time of his death both physically and mentally.

At 4am Autumn's cell phone rang. She kept her eyes closed and searched for it under her pillow, barely opening one eye once she held it to answer.

"Hello?" she answered groggily. It could only be her mother or her best friend Calla on the other end, there was no reason to hide her sleepy irritation.

"Darling, so sorry to call you when you're sleeping, but I'm afraid I'm going to need you to come over to the office," Janelle apologized.

"What's the matter?" Autumn asked, barely managing to sit herself up.

"Just try to get here as soon as you can, all right? Thank you, dear, I'll see you soon."

Her mother hung up and left Autumn to try and pull herself together. Despite how important Autumn knew this was, it was difficult to fight the tears and impending tantrum exhaustion brought on. It seemed that if her dreams weren't preventing her from a good night's sleep, an emergency could do the trick just as well.

The road was wet and a light drizzle was falling as Autumn paced to Jameson. She was the only person awake that wasn't at work - she could see a few fishing boats on the water and smell fresh, warm bread baking coming from Gillian's Bakery a few streets over. As the cold wind blew against her, Autumn cursed and prayed that her mother would at least have a mug of tea waiting for her. If twenty-one years of living here hadn't given Autumn more of a tolerance for the cold, then she was doomed until the day she left Margate.

After ten minutes she arrived at the security check and held her badge up to the guard on duty. Autumn had never met this man before, since she had never had reason to be going to Jameson this early in the morning. But the soldier nodded her in all the same, and within a couple more minutes she was hanging her scarf and coat in her mother's office.

"Goodness, Autumn, couldn't you have dressed a little more appropriately?" Autumn's mother exclaimed.

Autumn looked down at her outfit. She had worn this dress a few times while coming to the military base; a long-sleeved navy blue drop-waist dress with a pleated skirt. The hem wasn't too high above the knee, but even so she was wearing black tights and shorts. _Well, to keep me warm more than anything_, Autumn thought, not daring to let the truth escape her lips, if only to save her from more scolding.

"If this is truly an emergency, then surely there are more important things we should be discussing than my outfit. You should be thankful I didn't show up in my pajamas," Autumn replied, raising her eyebrow.

Janelle ran her hand through her sandy blonde hair and let out a deep breath. "I didn't mean to imply that you look underdressed, Autumn. But I should have at least told you not to wear something you don't want ruined... Come along, then."

Janelle informed Autumn of what was happening as they walked through the base. Autumn could tell they were heading for the barracks and she quickened her pace to walk beside her mother. Chuck had been running a fever since earlier this afternoon and wasn't getting any better. Naturally, maintaining Chuck's health was priority. His first two weeks awake had been rough and there were quite a number of close calls. Chuck's stress levels were very high and had probably brought on the fever he was currently suffering from. Janelle had originally planned to have him monitored around the clock, but both Herc and Chuck deemed it too extreme. The man was a war hero, after all.

As the two women approached building five of the barracks, they opened the door to the hallway on the first floor and did their best to step lightly. The echo of Autumn's boots in the hall didn't help quiet Janelle's fast-paced tromp in her own heels. When they arrived at room 15-S Janelle tapped on the door. After a moment, the door cracked open and Chuck retreated back to his bed, letting the women walk in on their own.

Autumn glanced around the bleak room briefly. The walls were bare, the furniture boring and utilitarian-looking. There was absolutely none of Chuck's personality in this living space. Autumn shook her head, trying to shake the silly thoughts. _This isn't the time for foolish things like interior design criticism_, Autumn scolded herself.

"Chuck, dear, you're burning up," Janelle exclaimed, dabbing his forehead. "Did you push yourself too far today? You know it's going to take a while to get back to the physical state you were in back in your fighting days."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not daft," Chuck said. "That old man should have just minded his own business—there's no reason to fuss over a bloody fever."

"Your father's just worried about you, Chuck," Janelle responded calmly. "We all are. We just want to make sure you're taking proper care of yourself."

With that, Janelle stood and walked over a few steps toward Autumn. "If his fever gets worse, call me immediately. If not, I'll see you tomorrow."

Autumn's eyes went wide. "Let me walk you out," she said, following her mother through the front door and closing it behind her. "Are you mad?!" she shouted in a whisper. "You want me to spend the night here with him like a babysitter?"

Janelle glared at her daughter. "I need you to step up here, Autumn. You want to be a doctor? Then start paying your dues. He is a sick man, and if something were to happen to him—on our watch or not—we would be held responsible. Do you understand what will happen to us if we fail to keep him alive and healthy?"

The thought hadn't crossed Autumn's mind... God only knows who funded this entire experiment, let alone how much it cost over the last three decades. Janelle let out a soft sigh when she saw that her daughter had put her childish reservations to the side and understood the importance of watching over Chuck.

"Just call me if you need anything, all right? You're going to be fine."

Janelle gave her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek and made her way back to her office. Autumn took a deep breath and let herself back into Chuck's room. He was laying on his bed, facing the wall, his back to her. She decided to sit down on the one armchair in the room and try to settle herself in for a quiet night of staying awake. The sound of Chuck's breathing was reassuring, but he mumbled and tossed around quite a bit. _Suffering from fever induced dreams, no doubt_, Autumn thought. After about an hour he settled down when rain had started to pour, and Autumn could tell the sky was beginning to lighten.

"Autumn," Chuck grumbled, his face half buried in his pillow.

She stood up and walked over to his bed, sitting on the very edge of it. "Yes, Chuck? Would you like a glass of water?"

"Will you administer it orally?" Autumn could hear the smirk, even through his illness.

She rolled her eyes and gave him a playful push on the shoulder. "Be serious for once. I'm trying to help you out here."

"You should go home, Autumn," Chuck replied.

"And face the wrath of my mother? I'd rather deal with your grumpy attitude, thank you very much."

"I don't blame you," Chuck laughed.

"So what do you really want, Chuck?"

"I want to go back to sleep," he said.

Autumn touched him on the shoulder and gave him a light squeeze. Something inside her told her that he was referring to a deeper sleep than the one that overcame him in the following minutes.


End file.
